Archers thread #144: Window pains again! Light relief or dark times ahead for Ambridge in 2023? Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you’d love to volunteer in the shop with Susan, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please! We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

New year, new thread. Many thanks to @LillianGish for the window pains pun! Hoping to hear a lot less from the Caseys this year and a good deal more about farming and how Ambridge is coping with Brexit, cost of living crisis, ageing population and all sorts of credible character-based storylines. Yes, I know, but one can only hope.

Over to you!

I miss the lovely young man Ruiari had become before Alice wounded him.

Was just about to make same point as patineur. This SL didn’t come completely out of blue as we’d had several heavy hints over the last few months, in the form of Brian breaking off business calls to take calls from Jenny and the concerned and anxious tone of voice he used each time, as if checking on a serious situation.

Agree with above PP saying this was being hinted at.

R was wounded by Alice - but I do think as awful as what Alice said I get the impression her therapy and recovery has shown her how important healthy communication is. All of her relationships are better now: with Chris, with Susan etc

And this is going to be revealed more as she helps R. I’m sure we’re going to hear an insight into why she drank, and how addressing that helped her stop. And sharing that with R will help him see why Julienne is the same kind of destructive behaviour Alice has engaged in.

I actually wondered if Ruairi had been drinking last night - his voice seemed very strange. Maybe he was just being theatrical though.

Agree with @FallonsNewCoat and @echt that parsnip and apple soup sounds far too sweet to be enjoyable. Maybe Tony has a convenient drain where he can empty that flask. Better than sitting in the kitchen with Pat watching him try to eat it.

Yes, I thought R sounded like he was drunk
when he interjected.

I love parsnip and apple soup.

Depends on how sharp the apples were and the spicing. I'd have leeks or onions as a base and plenty of pepper, probably nutmeg and ginger. Could be lovely. There's a good Delia Smith recipe for parsnip, tomato, apple and celery soup, which is not excessively sweet.

Agreed.

I don't see where Ruairi's reaction came from this evening.

Despite the whole ‘sex with a middle aged woman’ and patina of jaded sophistication, I’m inclined to see Ruairi as a terrified child. He probably hasn’t even begun to grieve - he’s just aware his world has been torn apart, and is ready to scream at anyone who might be involved. Yes he was Brian’s son, but it was almost certainly Jenny who did the lion’s share of the nurturing. And it had to be Jenny (ironically) who ensured his integration into a family of half siblings - all of whom were justifiably anxious about their own position in the hierarchy.

I should think he’s pretty scared of being torn apart by the pack, now she isn’t there to protect him! Brian is … wounded. It probably looks as if Jenny’s offspring could overwhelm him going forward, leaving Ruairi exposed and defenceless.

And all this while he’s entrapped by That Woman.

I don’t think it’s a surprise he’s lashing out, in his own unique way.

I am hoping for a Shakespearean dynastic melt down where branches of the family go to war with each other, with Jenny and Brian's shared children stuck in the middle.

I also think that in this instance I can get on board with the lazy trope of dropping all
of the backstory on her health after Jenny’s death.
Had we known as listeners, I think it would have overshadowed anything else to do with the Aldridges for as long as it took them to decide to bump her off. You’d be constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and there would be no shock element, which I think is being used as a way to drag the droves of listeners who must be getting as tired of the window nonsense and the “Are You Being Served” farce back into listening more regularly (I know that I’ve been more engaged with it since the weekend).

Top international businessman (and latterly shop assistant) Justin had heard of Julianne when they had their chance - and very uncomfortable - meeting in the bar of the posh hotel. He said something typically pompous along the lines of 'ah, yes, Julianne Wright of Bodgit & Scarper Asset Management, I presume? I’m greatly impressed by your excellent investment record…' etc etc.

thank you! i was beginning to think i'd made it all up. So yes, Justin doesn't know Julianne, but he had definitely heard of her. I always thought it was a way of reinforcing just how business focussed and get-ahead she is. I am seriously hoping that she decides her Rauri replacement is more fun and dumps him. And then he goes back to Ireland for ever and never comes back on my radio. I find his SL completely annoying.

I did like the infighting. Kate - oh i always want to slap her - was excellently Kate. and Alice so convinced she is completely OK after a few months. Long may it last

I also understand why Jenny would have told Tony. But i would also have assumed that she would tell Lilian at the end of their weekend away, it's a pity Tony didn't lie and say that. He still has time to coach Brian to do that, as a way of telling a white lie to help Lilian. (love the comparison of J and L to the queen and her sister, spot on)

I can see how Jenny's diagnosis was a shock initally but she was 78, not an unusual age to suffer serious health issues . Ambridge seeks to be a strange world of perpetually healthy people even in to very advanced age, and where late middle age children expect their aged parents to continue to be very healthy.

Oh my - Brian’s on the Today programme right now!

Yes he was Brian’s son, but it was almost certainly Jenny who did the lion’s share of the nurturing. And it had to be Jenny (ironically) who ensured his integration into a family of half siblings So true. That's why he was lurking in his room and hovering on the stairs - there was no Jenny to bring him into the fold. @TonightMatthewIamgoingtobecher I also thought Ruairi's "Lies, secrets and deceit..." was straight out of Mike Leigh. Though pots and kettles spring to mind since the biggest secrets at the moment are his. What did Julianne say to him before he left? It felt like he couldn't wait to get out and get back to her. Re. Lillian and Tony, I tend to feel that if you are going to tell one person in the family significant health news, you tell them all (downplaying if necessary so as to minimise alarm). Lillian should have been told - especially as she and Jenny were going away together. I can see why she is furious. I also found Peggy's silence irritating - if all this drama was going to continue to rage around her - the silly window and now the death of her daughter - she should have been parked in the Laurels where we might reasonably believe fuss and worry was being kept from her not sitting in Pat and Tony's front room with a gag on.

Brian Aldridge is on the Today programme (8:56 slot).

I can quite see why Jenny kept quiet about her condition. Reactions last night showed that, if she'd told them, they'd have been nagging at her endlessly to have the operation, and treating her like porcelain the rest of the time. It would have made her last years miserable.

Yes, just caught Charles Collingwood jovially reminiscing about his 46(?) years on TA. It hadn't realised that his real life wife played Shula, so he's lost two close colleagues. CC didn't sound like he was ready to call it a day himself....

What did Julianne say to him before he left? It felt like he couldn't wait to get out and get back to her.

maybe (please please) she said "come back by Friday or your Barbican replacement will be your full-time replacement"?
All the hand-wringing (mostly by Alice, tbf) about getting Rauri over, why isn't anyone talking about getting Debbie over, or telling her face to face?

@Brefugee I guess because Debbie is a) in a different country, and b) much older and more mature.

Thank goodness for that. I used to have some professional dealings with actors, many of them well over normal retirement age, and always had the impression that most of them wanted to carry on until they simply couldn't do it physically any more. Not really surprising from a financial point of view, given what a precarious occupation it is, with long gaps between jobs for many, mostly not well paid, totally dependent on their own pension arrangements, no sick pay, etc etc, but it's a way of life too, and there must be a sense of loss - purpose, a particular kind of camaraderie - when it comes to an end. We have a neighbour who is an actor. I don't think he's done any professional work for a while now as he's in his 80s but he only stopped working quite recently.

Debbie was mentioned the other night - 'the video call to Debbie' - odd to call it that, when we all know it would be Zoom or a WhatsApp video call. They would have let her know immediately, as she probably has her phone on and with her all the time and hasn't blocked her immediate family, as Ruairi appears to have done, with the exception of Jennifer herself.

@DadDadDad CC didn't sound like he was ready to call it a day himself....

I suppose he would have to say that regardless, though. I mean if he said he was looking forward to joining his wife Judy Bennett (Shula) in retirement and they had plans to do x, y and z, we'd all be on tenterhooks waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Oh … I wonder if it’ll be revealed that Debbie also knew about Jennifer’s heart condition. Think I wondered before if there had been some special reason for her off-air flying visit over Christmas.

I felt Juliane’s calling Ruairi back from the lift was just a display of control. She’d made sure she was the one who decided when he should leave - before he had a chance to decide for himself - and she just twitched the puppet strings so he and his step sister could see she was still in charge of his comings and goings.

Excellent post from Totters there about Ruairi. Spot on, as I am hearing this.

I'm not bothered by not hearing Peggy speak about Jennifer - we can all imagine what state a 98yo would be in, in her circumstances. We saw with the Queen last year how quickly a very elderly person can go downhill following a terrible blow like losing a loved one.

thanks, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g i must have missed the video call (I have been ugly crying at TA just lately, this SL is a bit close to home) but i do miss dialogue

I guess because Debbie is a) in a different country, and b) much older and more mature.

when my dad suddenly died, my SIL's first priority was to call me. I live in a different country, but their feeling was i must be told now (partly because they knew I'd fly right over to take care of my mum)

Although, thinking about it, it's only really Alice who is pushing the Rauri must be told now and brought to Ambridge narrative.